He was mentioned as an eligble player for Man U by Mark Robins tonight so I'm guessing he's still at the club.
I never said that I said I didn't want to join the trust for a couple of reasons, never said I wasn't interested
Alan bloore is chairman isn't he? Thats reason one, reason two is simply that the meetings are always held on tuesday nights which isn't a complaint it just makes it impractical for me. Then there are other reasons such as that I disagree with some of the secrecy practices and feel that in some respects the trust doesn't act in the best interests of the average fan but to an extent I believe that is linked to number one.
Not sure what your grievance with Alan is but one thing is for sure he does and has done more for the football fan (Barnsley and otherwise) than any other person involved with Barnsley FC. Most people don't realise this though and listen to ******** that gets thrown at anyone who is percieved to have a position of power or responsibility (not saying he actually has the former). And I have to say I bought into that as well before getting involved in the trust (and FSF). Occasionally his manner can infuriate people but you're so way of the mark with your last point. As for the secrecy practices, the only time people are especially asked not to keep things confidential is usually when Patrick or our manager come to the meeting. This maybe at their request, that way they can be more open. Personally I would like to see all our meetings video like Rob was kind enough to do tonight. That way members who live away and can't make the meetings (like yourself for instance if you joined) could get the opportunity to watch it if they wanted. Hopefullly tonights meeting will be the first of many meetings available online.
on the Alan issue I don't think think those doubts will ever go away because i've personally seen him acting in a manner that i've found very unimpressive on a number of occasions and this has been while a member of the trust and while not as well. Not sure what could be done about that to be honest. The secrecy well yes it is partly down to the requests of the club so in a way I can understand that but at the same time I feel there could still be more that could be done to make even these meetings seem less secret. Perhaps getting a statement or a few quotes from the guest speaker on those nights that they would be willing to share would be a good idea? It would allow them to keep what they want to 'private' but also give out some information as well. Putting the videos on the internet is a really good idea but I think you could even take that a stage further. Live streaming of the meetings to the supporters trust site for members only coupled with emails being able to be sent live to yourself at the meetings would be amazing. I've no idea how you'd set that up but you probably do and i'll be honest i'd join instantly if that was implemented. Just a thought
THe other thing I should say though... Is that I agree we don't always do enough and I think we could try and represent Barnsley fans better which is one of the reasons for getting involved. Sometimes it takes a while to change things though. Live streaming is a good idea and one that I'd also love to see and must admit i hadn't really thought about before. (I've been trying to convince poeple that videos would be good for the last 12 months).
